You've got questions about discovering, preserving and celebrating your family history; our experts have the answers.

Q: My husband's grandfather and his parents came to the US about 1873, possibly by way of Liverpool. They were from Germany. Where in New York would they have landed? Which ports were open then?

A: There were many American ports in operation in the 1870s, but the major
ones seeing the most arrivals were Baltimore, Boston, New Orleans, New
York and Philadelphia. It's impossible to guess which port your husband's relatives were
most likely to arrive at—although German arrivals tended to favor the
ports of Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore—but your best course of
action is to check published indexes first, such as the Germans to
America series, and then ports that are indexed for the 1870s. These
would include Baltimore, Boston and Philadelphia. The port of New York
is not indexed for this time period, and if they came through New York,
they would have been processed at Castle Garden, located in Battery Park,
since Ellis Island did not open as an immigrant receiving station until
1892. No special records would have been created; you'd still be
searching for the passenger arrival list. If your husband's grandfather
and his parents became naturalized citizens, check for naturalization
records, which might give you arrival information, depending on when they
became citizens.